Building revenue opportunities

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2011 (5723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first of many steel piles has been driven into the ground for the new home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And, just for the record, the sound the pile made as it was pounded into the earth was not ‘Ka-Ching!’

That said, those who work for the Bomber organization — and in particular, chief transition officer Jeff Thompson — are ecstatic the real construction on the new facility is moving the club one step closer to a new world of revenue opportunities and financial stability.

“This is awesome news,” said Thompson Wednesday. “This is saying the train has left the station and we’re on track to build the stadium. It’s a tremendously exciting time for the organization and the community to be part of this right now. We’re the first in Canada to build a new stadium, one that by which everybody will be measured.

“The future of the football club can now never be in doubt.”

Thompson was brought on board by the Bombers last December as the front man of an organizational team whose goal is to maximize the revenues that can be generated in the new building. The club is still in the process of putting a value on everything from the roughly 40 luxury boxes in the new building to the price of premium seating, signage and stadium naming rights.

That should be completed within the next three or four months, after which the Bombers will be aggressively hitting up their current corporate partners while chasing new ones. The list of companies who want to purchase corporate suites is growing and the club has already had inquiries about the stadium naming rights.

Canad Inns currently holds the rights to the Polo Park stadium, but that deal — worth $170,000 a year — expires at the end of this season.

Just as a point of reference, a CFL official said Wednesday only the Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders earn revenue from stadium naming rights deals. But it can be a lucrative deal for any sports franchise and is expected to continue to grow with the CFL’s popularity soaring and its ratings on TSN having reached record highs in 2010.

A feasibility study completed last year in Regina estimated the naming rights of a possible new stadium there to be worth in the neighbourhood of $500,000 annually, but that is likely undervaluing the deal given the current marketplace.

Air Canada pays $1.5 million a year for naming rights to the Air Canada Centre, home of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors of the NBA while EXcel Energy pays the Minnesota Wild US$3 million a year for naming rights on its arena. Royal Bank of Canada’s RBC Investments pays $4 million a year for naming rights on the RBC Center, home of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

But it’s not just the naming rights on the front of the building that will bring value to the Bombers. There’s also secondary naming rights on everything from entrances, corridors and hosting areas within the facility to the media boards that will be featured on the outside.

Thompson did say, however, that there is a limit. There won’t be a logo on every bathroom stall, for example, so as to make the building look like the bricks and mortar equivalent of a European hockey jersey jammed with advertisements.

“It’s a delicate balance,” said Thompson. “Let’s not forget this is an 80-year-old football club with a tremendous heritage that we have to respect and think about every step of the way. So while we have to be commercially driven, we can’t be seen as over-killing the value within the trademarks and heritage of the club. At the same time, we need the new stadium and the revenues it will generate.

“What’s exciting is we’ve got so much more new inventory in the new building. We’ve literally run out of runway in this current facility. There’s not any more inventory to sell that has high value.

“We’re energized to make this the new standard in a football stadium from a fan perspective and a corporate perspective.”

A live feed from the construction site at the University of Manitoba can be found at www.bluebombers.com and the team will soon be transforming its conference centre at Maroons Road into a preview area where corporate partners and season ticket holders will be able to view the seating options and suite designs.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Naming rights deals

A look at some of the current stadium naming rights deals in North America, courtesy of an ESPN Sports Business report from last September:

AIR CANADA CENTRE, Toronto (home of the Maple Leafs and Raptors) — $1.5 million annually; deal expires in 2019

U.S. CELLULAR FIELD, Chicago (Chicago White Sox) — $3.4 million annually; expires in 2025.

STAPLES CENTER, Los Angeles (Lakers, Kings, Clippers, Sparks) — $5.8 million annually, expires in 2019

MOSAIC STADIUM at Taylor Field, Regina (Roughriders) — $400,000 annually; expires in 2016.

PENGROWTH SADDLEDOME, Calgary (Flames) — $1 million annually; expires in 2016.

INVESCO FIELD at Mile High, Denver (Broncos) — $6 million a year; expires in 2021.